


Ternion

by gxnseys



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Coming of Age, F/M, Fluff, Love Triangle, OC, mostly canon, rating will change as story goes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:22:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26810599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gxnseys/pseuds/gxnseys
Summary: Charlotte 'Shucks' Elendark is not bright for a Ravenclaw. In fact she's not bright for any of the houses; she hasn't figured out the password to her dorm in a few months OR memorised the timetable for the floating staircases.Something else she hasn't been able to figure out is why Cedric Diggory (oh my god!) has started walking her between classes - or why the Quidditch boy she remembers from Gryffindor is always around the corner at Hogsmeade, ready to be bumped into.Time for some of that in built wisdom to kick in, right? RIGHT?!
Relationships: Cedric Diggory/Original Female Character(s), Cho Chang/Cedric Diggory, Oliver Wood/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	Ternion

**Author's Note:**

> So just before we start I have a few disclaimers please read!:
> 
> 1\. I've tried my hardest to keep dates + timelines correct (cheers 2 hpwiki page u da og) so any mistakes are intentional for means of linear integrity in this narrative - nothing huge just a few small tweaks
> 
> 2\. I've written the characters like how they were described physically/appearance wise in the books eg. Cedric and Oliver. Feel totally free to imagine the actors or how they appeared in the movies, there just might be times where the description differs! 
> 
> 3\. I've taken imaginative liberty with a few character's personalities (and physical descriptions) where there were some holes, particularly Oliver Wood - hope yall dont mind - though im being very careful to not make anything too OOC
> 
> 4\. I've made up a few spells and classes bc i wasn't gonna miss dat chance
> 
> 5\. I've set this during Goblet of Fire, meaning 1995 - muggle fashion and media will show this but otherwise it's not super important to the story :)
> 
> 6\. This fic is also up on Wattpad with illustrations by me of the characters 
> 
> 7\. Most characters aren't mine and all copyrights are reserved to JK Rowling and Warner Bros (pls no one sue me lol)
> 
> 8\. Although I love Harry Potter and almost everything about it I do not agree with JK Rowlings views and want to be explicitly clear that this space is LGBTQ+ inclusive especially to those who are trans <3
> 
> 9\. hope you enjoy!

Shucks thinks she got her nickname at about this same time of the year.

The grounds of Hogwarts were misty with autumn chills, everyone writing to their parents about sending extra cloaks and sweaters that they swore they wouldn't need when they packed in September. Owls flew by and the Womping Willow was calming down for a slightly more subdued and definitely less leafy hibernation, all while students bustled about for class and lounged by the lake on picnic blankets. Of course, this year was a bit different due to the Beauxbatons and the Durmstrangs, who all somehow seemed to take up a lot more space than the average teenage witch or wizard in their bright blue or fur lined coats, but the Magic was still there. Hogwarts in October could be like that.

Yes, this was definitely the same time of year that Shucks got her nickname in the first place. She remembers it like it was yesterday. In the courtyard - if she recalled correctly - it had happened. In her first year she had been a fair bit larger than the other children and a fair bit shyer too, her uniform her sister's and far too small, and as a result a constant blush sat high on her cheeks, aggravated by cold weather and what was at the tender age of eleven a constant state of embarrassment. Troy Killingstone, a Slytherin on his way to a double potions class with her Ravenclaw one was a boy that possessed the largest mouth known to adolescence, and he said that Charlotte was not the right name for a girl so big and so shy and so nervous. So he called her Shucks. And by the Diadem on Rowena Ravenclaw's head, it had stuck.

Now, a less shy and regular sized Charlotte 'Shucks' Elendark didn't mind the nickname at all. She had grown into her own body and made her own friends, had even at one point hexed Troy Killingstone himself, and now felt as though she could enjoy the unfolding year coming for her at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

As if it could ever be that easy.

"You look horrible"

Shucks was not surprised by the lack of hello from her friend, Adela Snowbuck, a fellow Ravenclaw, as it was not the first time they had greeted each other in such a manner.

Shucks, despite having lived at Hogwarts for the majority of the past 6 years and having been in Ravenclaw house the entirety of that time, only correctly guessed the riddle at the door approximately 45% of the time. The outcome of that fact meant that she was a master at finding alternate areas of resting, although there was a stage during her fourth year where she'd become as close to nocturnal as a girl on a school timetable could be. Getting into her common room was a matter of waiting until someone else smarter came along to answer the damned riddle.

"Good morning to you too. Purple today?" Shucks asked, standing up from her makeshift bed and stretching. Her place of rest last night had been under a huge, empty portrait of Helga Hufflepuff by the west wing, where a little armless couch rested. It was slightly musty with disuse and uncomfortable as anything but it was definitely better than the ground.

Adela grimaced as Shucks' joints popped and cracked, a terrible sound so early in the morning.

"Yes, I'm trying to attract attention today" Adela said offhandedly, tossing a head of lavender hair over her shoulder. "Is it working?"

Shucks surveyed her friend. As a metamorphmagus, Adela could look however she pleased. Her hair often changed with her outfits and her eyebrows to suit the trends, but mostly she kept herself with the same sharp face and dark skin she'd been born with. Her eyes usually stayed the same hazel brown and her features the same shape, but - and Shucks had been sworn to secrecy on this - on the rare occasion she had been known to up her cup size depending on which boyfriend she'd been seeing that night. Today Adela had opted for full, waving hair, the purple strands glinting off morning light filtering through the windows. Shucks sighed.

"It's always working" she answered.

Adela smiled. It was not a kind smile, but Shucks welcomed it all the less.

"Is that what you're going to wear to Hogsmeade?" Adela asked, changing the topic. She pulled a ball of dust off of Shucks' sweater.

"Unless you want to go back up to the common room with me and get changed - yes" Shucks said, shrugging her shoulder away.

Hogsmeade to Shucks and Adela - and probably to most of the other 5th and 6th form girls - was like a display presentation. Unencumbered by uniforms and school ties and robes and herbology gloves - they had a small window to show what they really looked like. You'd often find Adela outside of Honeydukes, foot propped against the wall, wearing the best fitting trousers known to man. And when she could get into her dorm and thus to her trunk, Shucks would be beside her, as many enchantment charms and eyelash growth potions in her system as she could stomach down.

Today would be different though, as sleeping on a semi-decorational ottoman had made Shucks thoroughly not bothered. Her sweater and jeans would have to do.

"You look homeless" Adela said.

And with that, they were off.

-

The journey to Hogsmeade was always an affair of laughing from girls and shoving from boys, a colourful trail of students travelling along the little path in the crisp autumn sunlight. The grass had been worn down from walking, starting to lose it's summer colours and fading into the burnt umber that the season had relaxed into. Shucks thought she fit into a world like this, with her yellow hair and dark eyes, thought maybe she could blend in and be forgotten amongst a pile of leaves somewhere until the spring came again.

Of course, not if Adela had anything to do with it.

"Just one charm - please - just one"

Her friend flittered around her, worrying at her frayed sleeves and pulling pieces of her hair. Shucks reminded her that some people were stuck with the features they were born with, but Adela always asked _if she had all the magic in the world at her fingertips why wouldn't she use it to look a little better?_ Ravenclaw at heart, Adela always believed there was an answer to any problem.

"Just let me be ugly today" Shucks said, lazily pointing her wand at her friend. "Or I'll jelly-legs-jinx you."

"Oooh _scary_. Fine" Adela sighed. "But what if Viktor Krum walks past and he says; ' _zat gorl zhere... if she vas vearing booby top, i vould take her to Yule ball'_?"

"Then Viktor Krum is a bit of a perv" Shucks said. "Besides, I couldn't do that to you, Adela."

Adela smiled triumphantly and skipped along, her little purple pleat skirt bouncing along with her. "That's very true, Shucks, thank you for saying that."

Shucks laughed. Adela had a very clear goal this year, and that was to nab a Quidditch star boyfriend for her arm. Although half the Slytherin team and a majority of Gryffindor house had asked her out already, the moment the Seeker for the Bulgarian national team walked through the doors of the Great Hall Adela's only target had been set and locked.

As the trail went on, they walked side by side for awhile in comfortable silence, taking everything in. A feeling had set that neither Adela nor Shucks were willing to bring up; the reminder this was almost the last year they'd be doing this, learning here, at the greatest Wizarding school there was. This would be one of the last autumns they'd make the trips to Hogsmeade to spy on boys and drink butterbeer by the fire, one of the last two years they'd have the chance to stay up in the airy Ravenclaw common room, studying for finals even as the sun came up over the great lake.

"Ooh" Adela said.

She grabbed onto Shuck's arm and urged her forward, right through a pack of third years who'd made a blockade in the path.

"There he is!" she whispered sharply into Shucks' ear. "Cedric Diggory, that handsome bastard. I _still_ think it should have been one of us."

Shucks scanned the heads of the students until her gaze fell onto the dark bronze hair of Cedric Diggory, a few paces in front, his head thrown back to laugh at a joke his friend had just made. Out of his usual yellow, today he was wearing a simple navy sweater and trousers, a head taller than most of the other people surrounding him. Shucks could agree with her friend; he _was_ handsome. Handsome enough that when she saw him her face went hot, but bastard? Not so much.

"I reckon the Goblet knew we were pissed when we put our names in" Shucks dismissed. "Surely thats immediate disqualification?"

"Poppycock" Adela said, waving a hand in the air as if to dismiss the notion. "How could it tell if we had firewhiskey in our systems, its not a breathalyser- oh perfect, look Shucks, we're here."

And yes, they were. Hogsmeade was a sight in autumn, bustling with carriages and patrons of The Three Broomsticks, orange and umber leaves scattered amongst the ground, witches and wizards hurrying by eachother in long cloaks and woollen hats. It seemed like a perpetual scene from a time Shucks never lived in, one she had only seen in muggle movies and old paintings. The 90's seemed like a distant place when one went to Hogsmeade.

"If I see Harry Potter here I'm decking him" Adela swore, side stepping a fourth year in her way. Adela was ridiculously tall, a fact that meant younger students could immediately know to fear her, a prudent decision on anyone's part.

"Oh, 'Dela , come on-" Shucks said, "give the kid a break."

"I'm not giving anyone a break. Two champions from Hogwarts and one of them's not even _of age?_ And they're both _boys?_ "

Shucks shrugged. It was funny to see Adela pretend like the snub hadn't bothered her deeply. Truthfully, Shucks' friend had always been destined for great things, a feat hard to achieve when Harry Potter was in school at the same time as you. Shucks thought the poor guy seemed tired, but she wasn't about to say that out loud.

Adela sighed. A stream of children moved around her, bustling to get into Honeydukes and Zonkos, their scarves pulled tight around them.

"I'm going to go to Gladrags, do you want to come?"

Shucks shook her head. Whenever she went into Gladrags Wizardwear with Adela, the clothing shop with all the funky socks and unique fabrics, she always ended up being questioned by the tailors about what sizes she wore. Truthfully, Shucks didn't know anymore. Whereas her friend stood slim and willowy, Shucks felt a little more like a small tow truck. Curvy, yes, but next to Adela she was like a bean bag chair.

"I have to duck into Dervish and Banges, actually" Shucks said, looking around.

"Oh, yeah, right. Finally picking up your cauldron?"

Shucks nodded. She'd broken it in Potions while brewing Amortentia. The smell had come back incorrectly as something like burnt plastic and dirt, and in shock she'd knocked the thing onto the ground and had it shatter before anyone could say _Wingardium Leviosa_ and stop it.

"Suit yourself" Adela said, absently scanning the now bare high street for any potential victims to her charms. Without a goodbye she took off down the street, her long legged stride taking her out of earshot in seconds.

Shucks stood for a moment and enjoyed the silence. The students had all found places now within their desired shop, their noises and jeers all contained within glass windows. No carriages swooshed through the street and all the pubs seemed to be pleasantly full. Shucks was sure somewhere a few streets over, in the residential part of Hogsmeade, someone was baking a pumpkin pie.

Slowly making her way to Dervish and Banges, Shucks tried to swallow a nervousness that had been caught in her throat all morning. The fact she'd broken a cauldron might not have been such a worry if it had only been the first time she'd ever done something of the sort. She seemed to have a knack for breaking objects and ruining things, traits unbefitting for a Ravenclaw. In her house they were not all expected to be geniuses in lessons or human calculators, of course, but they were meant to be special. Ravenclaws were meant to possess something that made them unique, some kind of talent that separated them from the ordinary bunch. Adela hadn't yet figured out what hers was, and envied her newly graduated older sister Neta, who'd been a Slytherin with no questions or doubts about the fact. Her being sorted into that house had been as clear and as obvious as daylight, but Adela could not say she felt the same. It hadn't bothered her at first, she'd just been happy that someone, even if it was a talking hat, had thought she was clever. Now with her increasing number of nights spent sleeping in the corridors and impending N.E.W.T. exams, Shucks was starting to sweat under the collar.

Dervish and Banges was the repair stop at the end of High Street, and standing outside she wondered why they didn't even bother to fix their sign. The outside was painted a dingy dark green, the gold lettering that had probably once proudly announced the name on top of the front entrance now reading a sad _er ish a d Bang s._

But Shucks was in no position to be choosy, so she pushed open the door and stepped inside. The little bell rang and instantly the old smell of dust and fire magic was everywhere. The door behind her promptly closed of its own accord, and she was left amongst piles and piles of stacked objects and equipment.

Huge cauldrons sat squat and full of parchment and boxes, while statues stood and hung from the ceiling in various states of dilapidation. Tattered broomsticks were propped against 7 foot tall stacks of books and manuals, potted plants gently humming tunes to themselves littering the floor. Every magical object Shucks could conceive to need fixing was sitting somewhere in the long, low ceilinged room of the store. She stepped over a bowl filled with tawny owl feathers to follow the hushed sound of people arguing.

Behind a large pile of megaphones and deflated quaffle balls, Shucks found who she could only assume was either Dervish or Banges fervently arguing over the counter with a young man.

"-promised it'd be done by today!" The young man yelled in a heavy Scottish accent, his hands spread out on the counter. He was a sturdy lad, with stocky shoulders and a barrel chest, his short dark hair tousled like he'd just walked through strong winds. He was wearing a thick knitted jumper, and something about him was immediately recognisable.

"What you did to this broom is barbaric! Our estimation was given before we saw that pile of splinters you brought in!" Either Dervish or Banges retorted.

The man rolled his jaw, his stare intent as he leaned over the counter further.

"I _need_ that broom" he said. His eyebrows sat low as he towered above the old man he argued with.

But Dervish or Banges was not intimidated, simply crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well," said Dervish or Banges. "I hope you won't need it before next Sunday, because that's when it will be fixed."

" _Next Sunday!_ " The young man cried. "Ye said it would be finished today! I might as well buy a whole new broom!"

"That's sounds like a rather prudent idea then, hmm?" Dervish or Banges remarked, a little smile on his weathered face. "Best start shopping around then, Mr. Wood."

From Shucks' unnoticed place behind the piles she whispered a quiet; " _ooooh_." She understood now that his recognisability was due to him being Oliver Wood, the former Captain and Keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Although Shucks hadn't ever picked up a broom herself, she enjoyed watching Quidditch and had always attended to see Neta's games as a Chaser for Slytherin. Thinking of it now, they both would have graduated last year. Shucks wondered if Neta had ever had any classes with him. He was rather cute, even with an angry flush on his cheekbones. She'd have to send her a letter.

"Why, I outta-" Wood started rolling up his sleeves, and Shucks jumped out from behind her hiding place.

"H-hello!" She cried around a cloud full of disturbed dust. "I'm here for my - _EUGH_ \- cauldron?"

The two men stared over at her, Dervish or Banges with a startled hand on his chest and Oliver Wood with burning eyes and hands stiff by his sides.

"Madam," Dervish or Banges said. "Are you quite alright?"

Shucks tried to hack a reply, doubled over as she coughed so hard her stomach hurt.

"Obviously she's not alright, ya daft bat" Wood said, rushing over to her. "She's wheezing up a lung here!"

He placed a hand on her back, and Shucks realised how fundamentally embarrassing what was happening was. She gasped again around tears in her eyes, and saw blearily from her hunched position as Wood pulled his wand out of his pocket. With a soft voice he lent over and said _"Anapneo"_ pointing his wand at her stomach.

Her lungs involuntarily filled with clean air in an instant, the dust disappearing. With a last little heave she stood properly and blinked out her blurry eyes.

"Thankyou" she said, looking up at Wood. He still had his hand on the middle of her back.

"No trouble. I've been winded more times in my life than I care to count" he said. Up close his voice was actually quite deep and calm, dark eyes crinkled in a smile.

Shucks forgot where she was for a moment, purpose and words dismissed from her mind as she returned his smile with wet cheeks. Oh, he was very cute. Surely Neta had known him and liked him, maybe he'd made it hard for her to concentrate during Quidditch games? He even had little freckles on the bridge of his nose.

"As for you, old man" Wood said, turning to Dervish or Banges and removing his hand from Shucks' body, knocking her out of her little dream. "You have until Thursday to fix my Firebolt."

"Sunday" Dervish or Banges said without looking up.

"Friday"

"Saturday"

"Deal" Wood conceded. He turned and walked past Shucks, but before rounding the corner glanced back. "Oh, and, clean ya bloody shop. Unless you _like_ almost killing pretty girls."

And with that jaw dropping statement he left. Silence hung in the air as Shucks finally spun on her feet to face Dervish or Banges.

"Did you hear that?" She asked. "He just called me a pretty girl!"

-

Shucks ran faster than she did when she almost got whacked by the Whomping Willow, newly fixed cauldron swinging by her side. She found Adela inside Gladrags talking to Cho Chang, another Ravenclaw in their year. Gladrags itself was another store like Dervish and Banges; overcrowded and piled high with the strangest assortment of fabrics and materials, random robes and items hanging from the ceiling and stuffed into crates. But Shucks saw Adela's purple hair in seconds.

"Dela!" she squealed, grabbing onto her friend's elbow, out of breath from her sprint. "You'll never guess what just happened to me."

Adela glanced down at her friend, before throwing a look back at Cho. Obviously Shucks had just interrupted their conversation, but she was beyond caring. This was by far the most exciting thing that had happened to them all semester besides the Goblet of Fire spitting out a fourth name.

"I'll see you guys back at the castle" Cho said, giving them a brief smile and leaving. Adela and Shucks watched her go, before Shucks tugged on her friend's sleeve and made her look down again.

"What? _What?_ " Adela demanded, firmly removing her smaller friend from her cashmere.

"Do you remember Oliver Wood?" Shucks asked, her cheeks hot with excitement. Her smile felt huge and beaming on her face, but she couldn't care.

"Uh... _no?_ " Adela said.

"You know - Gryffindor Quidditch team last year - tall with dark hair - _Scottish?_ "

Adela continued to shake her head, biting down on a nail. "It doesn't ring a bell." She admitted.

Shucks heaved a huge sigh. "Always wore the chunky turtleneck jumper?"

"Oh! Turtleneck boy! Why didn't you say so? What about him?"

Shucks remembered that in their 2nd and 3rd years they'd called him Turtleneck Boy when they'd catch a brief sight of him some place, on account for his tendency to wear the same knitted black one everywhere. Secretly Shucks had thought he'd looked cute, but once again, didn't want to voice that opinion outloud. She began to explain the occurrence she'd just had. She told Adela how he'd called her a pretty girl and put a hand on her back, and also a little reluctantly how he'd administered the anti-asphyxiation spell.

Adela's eyes glimmered the entire time, and when Shucks was done her face split into a huge cat smile.

"This is big. An older boy, and a cute one-" Shucks's chest puffed at her friends approval "-did that for you... are you going to see him again?"

Shucks swore her blood pressure dropped. " _See_ _him again?_ "

"Yes! Don't look so shocked - he was totally into you" Adela swatted her friend's arm. "We have to find out where he's staying."

" _Where he's staying?!_ "

"Yes, you idiot! He's not in Hogsmeade for any old reason, it's not like he would live here! He's probably staying at The Three Broomsticks - or maybe Hog's Head?"

Shucks' head spun from the pace of the conversation. She had been completely content with just leaving the brief encounter a happy memory to think of sometimes. Actualising it seemed like making a mountain out of a molehill.

"I don't want to make this something it isn't..."

"You aren't!" Adela insisted.

She began dragging Shucks out of the store and out onto the street, where the action of High street had picked back up again. Shucks let herself be pulled through the crowd and past the shops, only mildly trying to resist.

If by some strange chance they did find Oliver Wood again, what would she even say to him, besides maybe a second thankyou? And for what, not letting her choke to death? _Oh God_.

"Dellaaaaaa" Shucks whined as they approached the front door of The Three Broomsticks. "We don't _have_ to do this."

"We do," Adela said. She turned back and glared at her friend, putting her hands on her hips. "You haven't gotten over Davie yet. And it's been a whole summer."

Shucks groaned. Davie Spinnet had been Shucks' brief on and off again boyfriend in 5th year, who eventually left her to ' _focus on studying for his OWL exams_ '. He'd showed up this September with a Gryffindor girlfriend who despite Adela's constant denial of the fact was a fair bit more beautiful than Shucks. Frankly she hadn't really gotten over the ordeal.

"Why would someone who'd graduated already want to talk to someone my age?" Shucks asked.

She watched as a cool breeze lifted the purple hair off of Adela's shoulders. She was aware of her friend's piercing stare.

"You're pretty and funny. Who wouldn't like you? Here, let me charm you. _Amabilia Venuste_."

Before she could protest Shucks felt her hair raise itself and her lips pout of their own accord. Her fingernails hardened a little painfully in their beds, and she blinked heavily under newly lengthened lashes. She felt suddenly a bit raw.

She drew her wand and threatened it at Adela. "You know I hate it when you do that without asking!"

Adela rolled her eyes. The spell she'd used was sometimes referred to as the _Lovely and Charming_. It made you look pleasant and pretty, but in the days after it was casted one tended to look a little more disheveled and blotchy than usual.

"Save your hex for later" Adela said. She opened up the heavy entrance door and shoved Shucks inside.

The Three Broomsticks was bustling with patrons as usual. Wooden booths and tables lined the walls and scattered amongst the floors. Wizards and Witches of all backgrounds chatted and ate bar food, Madame Rosemerta making her rounds with trays on her arms pitched high with baskets of herbed bread and empty Butterbeer pints. Hogwarts students sat in tight little groups and laughed loudly, playing wizard chess and arm wrestling. By the bar a few people sat on the long stools and sipped their drinks around their conversation, served by gristly but friendly looking attendants. This was the first year Shucks was 17 and thus majority aged, meaning she was old enough to order whatever she liked or to come in whenever she pleased. It still felt like at any moment someone would turn around and kick her out for being a child.

No one turned when she entered, and as Adela slipped in beside her they stood and surveyed the scene for a few moments.

"Should I ask Rosmerta?" Adela questioned, finding a tall table in the middle of the room and skipping up onto a chair.

"I didn't realise you two were on a first name basis" Shucks muttered, slipping in opposite her friend. She set her heavy cauldron down on the spare chair and rubbed her tired fingers.

"Oh, you know me" Adela grinned her not nice grin. "Always making friends."

Shucks nodded glumly.

"I'll go ask her if Oliver is staying here in one of the rooms, can you go and get us two butterbeers?"

"Yeah, why not" Shucks said, happy to have purpose beyond sitting in anxiety.

She jumped down and weaved her way through students and tables to the bar, putting her forearm on the counter and waiting for attendance.

"Charlotte, right?"

Shucks turned to answer, a little surprised considering the only person that called her Charlotte now was her mother and she _definitely_ wasn't at The Three Broomsticks, but was rather speechless when she realised it had been none other than Cedric Diggory.

He stood beside her, casually leaning an elbow against the bar counter, an easy smile on his face. Something about him was so immediately charming, a quality that one hundred _Amabilia Venuste_ could never replicate. His brown hair was pushed lazily to the side, and between long fingers he turned a golden galleon over and over.

"Shucks" She said, breathless.

He made a face, his smile growing larger. "Pardon?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Shucks realised what she'd done. "Oh! Sorry, no, I _am_ Charlotte. People call me Shucks- I. I suppose it's a bit stupid-"

"Oh no, of course! I remember now" he laughed.

Shucks' brow crinkled together. _Remembered what?_

Cedric noticed her confusion instantly and his face grew softer. Up close Shucks could see that in the candlelight his hair had strands of umber and gold, not truly brown at all but all different shades of ochre and bronze.

"We took Astronomy last year together" he explained. "I think there was an incident with sleepwalking, or something of the sort?"

With a sinking feeling Shucks realised the event he was referring to.

The incident in question had been during a particularly long streak of sleeping outside in the corridors for Shucks. She'd been dead tired at her midnight astronomy class and fallen asleep half way through the lesson. At some point she'd risen in her sleep and made to walk away, falling down a flight of stairs and earning herself a week in the infirmary with Madam Pomfrey. Her father had even taken time off at the Ministry to come and see her.

"It's very generous of you to call it a sleepwalking incident" Shucks mumbled, the days second strong wave of embarrassment setting in on her chest.

"I remember your friend yelling _Shucks! Shucks!_ I suppose I understand why now" Cedric chuckled.

Shucks now wished she'd died that night, having this conversation. She'd either forgotten he'd been there or it had been knocked out of her during the fall. Her face felt so hot that she was sure she'd explode.

Cedric cleared his throat, sensing her discomfort. He rubbed a palm on one of his broad shoulders, before offering another smile.

"I'm glad you're alright now" he said, and Shucks nodded.

"Thanks" was all she could muster. She hoped Adela was not witnessing this interaction.

"I wanted to ask how your sister is- oh, hello" Cedric was interrupted by Madam Rosmerta slipping behind the bar and asking for his order. She smiled at him as everyone seemed to smile at him.

Shucks looked around for help, anything, anyone. Cedric Diggory had always been amazing, he'd always been smart and funny and lovely. What had Shucks always been?

 _Don't open_ that _door_ , she thought with a face.

"-and one for Shucks here" Cedric said, and Shucks snapped her focus onto him. He slid his galleon over the counter and she realised, beatifically, that he had just bought her a butterbeer.

"Thanks!" She said as it was slid across to greet her hand. Cedric smiled and raised his own pint in a _cheers_ motion, his grey eyes never leaving hers.

She thought, as she took a frothy sip from her butterbeer, that she wasn't even going to question why or how this was happening, and _god, what a perfect moment?_ When Davie appeared in eyesight and started pushing through people at the other end of the room to walk her way.

" _Oh_ ," Shucks said, putting down her drink and placing her hands over her face. "Oh God."

Cedric immediately questioned her what was wrong, but Shucks only shook her head, glancing up from between her fingers to see Davie rapidly advancing. His stupid bouncy hair looked stupidly extra bouncy, and he had a smile on a his face that said _you're the punchline_. He was wearing his Gryffindor scarf even though they didn't have to wear the uniform at Hogsmeade.

 _Dickhead_ , Shucks thought.

"I-I'm sorry- that's, that's my old boyfriend. Ex boyfriend - oh, he's coming this way"

They hadn't spoken since the break up. Shucks recalled the amount of times she'd written letters just to tear the to pieces after rereading them. One desperate night she'd even stood in front of her chimney with a handful of floo powder and Davie's address on her lips, but never could bring herself to step in. Thank God she hadn't, because if she did, she would have been greeted with the same shit eating grin he was giving her now as he moved steadily forward.

"You saw Davie?" Cedric asked, a little incredulously. "Isn't he dating Ge-"

"Georgia Trusslemay, yeah." It was all so embarrassing to admit out loud.

"I'm sorry" Cedric said.

She looked up at him, and thought she must look so pathetic. He was this Triwizard Champion, this prodigy boy, and Shucks was just the girl who fell down stairs and got dumped. But where she thought she'd find pity or uneasiness, she was greeted with concern and kindness. There was no malice in the light of his eyes, his eyebrows tilted up ever so slightly.

"Hi guys" Davie said, finally reaching them.

Cedric leaned forward and grabbed Shuck's hand. The breath was knocked out of her for the second time that day.

"Hi" she squeaked, watching Davie's face turn from smugness to anger to confusion all in a moment.

"Hey" he said again. He reached a hand up and adjusted the scarf around his throat. Shucks had never seen him look flustered before, but now a deep flush had settled on his jawbone. Where was Adela to witness this?

Shucks glanced down at their joint hands, Cedric's huge over hers. He was smiling politely at Davie, his lids low, a lock of hair loosening and falling over his forehead.

Shucks flashed her teeth in what was meant to be a smile. Where Cedric's thumb brushed over her knuckles stung like a jinx. She wanted to yank her hand out and run away, but in the same token to squeeze tighter and pull him to her. She stepped closer to him and let their arms brush. It was like a rush of hot energy through her chest.

"Cedric," Davie said. "How are you, mate?"

"Well" Cedric answered, inclining his head.

Davie shifted on his feet. Standing across from Cedric he looked small and pretentious. The Gryffindor uniform seemed too loud and obnoxious compared to the quiet, easy handsomeness of Cedric in a simple sweater. Shucks felt like her stomach was on her rollercoaster and her cheeks were on fire. Glancing around, she was surprised to see no one had even looked up to witness the interaction. It felt like every eye in the room was on her.

"Shucks-" Davie said, turning to her.

In any other circumstances just the sight of his familiar dark eyes and bouncy hair would have been enough for Shucks to crave his arms around her. But right now she was lightheaded with someone's else's fingers laced through hers.

"-can I have a word?"

Shucks grinned. It was manic, she could feel it. She wasn't even sure she'd blinked in the last thirty seconds. She wasn't sure she'd ever breathe again, let alone blink.

"No, actually" She exclaimed. "No, no absolutely not. I... well, Davie, I don't have anything to say to you, really!" 

Davie made a face. His bottom lip jutted and he puffed out a sharp breath. "Well fine if you're going to be like that then, _Charlotte_!"

Shucks let out a bark. She felt Cedric's arm move by her side as he shared a muffled laugh.

Davie turned sharply on his heel and began making his way back to his table, but Shucks called out to him.

"Ready to be an adult?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I just wanted to say," Shucks said, enunciating each word carefully. "I hope all that studying for your OWLS paid off." 

"Oh, piss off" Davie retorted.

Shucks and Cedric watched him storm off, his shirt getting caught on the corner of a chair, knocking disgruntled patrons aside as he beelined for his table. Cedric took a long sip of butterbeer beside her.

"I can't believe that was enough to make him lose it" Cedric said, before taking another drink and then shaking his head. "Actually, no, I can believe it. He's always been a git."

Shucks couldn't stop smiling. She spun round to look at him. He had a little bit of foam on his bottom lip. For a second she entertained the idea of kissing it off.

"Thankyou" she gushed. Their hands were still together. "Thankyou so _so_ much!"

Cedric grinned.

"Anyway," he said. "I came to ask you about your sister, Neta. Is she still playing Quidditch?"

Shucks tried to find her brain within her own head. _Who was Neta again?_

"Oh- um, no. She stopped when she left school. She's working in the ministry now. As-as an Auror."

Leave it up to Neta to get the coolest job there was. Their father worked in the Ministry of Magic in the Department of Accidental Magic Reversal and had a few friends in the Defence departments. He'd introduced them to Neta when she'd graduated and informed them of her interest and the rest had been history. As far as Shucks knew Neta had last been seen at the Quidditch World Cup after the dark mark had popped up. Shucks would have to ask if any clues had been uncovered. She wondered if Cedric was asking because he wanted Neta's number.

"Shame - she was great on a broom. Was going to ask for a few pointers" Cedric said. "Good that we got to have a conversation anyway, though."

He smiled down at her and Shucks beamed back. His grey eyes crinkled around the sides, and Shucks realised he looked very tired. It wouldn't be easy being a Triwizard Champion, he was probably in the middle of figuring out what his first task would be, all while dealing with press and pressure and a certain famous fourth year. Shucks couldn't even imagine. Still though, up this close she could see how his irises were truly a dark blue, like a stormy ocean or a sky full of clouds.

"Hello"

Shucks jolted, her hand jumping out of Cedric's. Adela stood before them, her face pinched and her hands on her hips. Shucks wondered if Cedric knew who Cher Horowitz was, or if he'd know that Adela was dressed just like her. In the muggle world, Adela would be the coolest girl in school. In Hogwarts, she constantly seemed a little overdressed. Shucks didn't think her friend minded that much, actually.

"You scared me" Shucks breathed. 

"My friends are calling me back," Cedric said suddenly, turning to her. He put a hand on her arm, his thumb on the soft skin of her inner wrist. "It was lovely talking to you. Let's do it again sometime."

He nodded at Adela and then left, leaving Shucks in a stunned silence. Questions bubbled up in her mind, _did he really want to talk again?_

"What the bloody fuck was that?" Adela hissed, advancing on Shucks like a hawk.

"He was asking me about Neta" Shucks said, her voice breathy and far away. Truthfully she felt like she'd just woken up from a dream.

"Were you two _holding hands?_ "

Shucks waved some fingers in the air offhandedly. "Davie came over, to talk to me and he just uh. Did it."

"Well, sorry to interrupt your little _rendezvous_ , but I just got done talking to Rosmerta and she told me where your Quidditch beau might be. Assuming you and Cedric aren't getting married now, that is."

Adela crossed her arms over her chest, giving Shucks a sour look. Adela was a master at whatever she put her mind to (including inquiry it seemed) and Shucks knew that her friend did not take kindly to her efforts going unappreciated. But now that Cedric had held her hand and spoken to her so kindly, Shucks could barely even recall her interaction with Oliver Wood not half an hour earlier, her mind filled up with grey eyes and an easy smile.

Adela looked Shucks up and down and sighed. They both knew she couldn't blame her for being a bit unresponsive.

"He's staying here" Adela said, "his Quidditch arrangements for Puddlemere United have been postponed because of the World Cup incident. He's in town for awhile to train before the season starts again."

She plonked herself down at the nearest table and put her chin on her hand.

"Yeah. That's great. Thanks for finding that out" Shucks said.

 _Cedric Diggory held my hand. Cedric Diggory held my hand. Cedric Diggory held my hand_.

"Room 14" Adela added. "Oh look, there he goes now."

" _What?!_ "

Shucks' head snapped up, watching as Oliver Wood made his way through the Three Broomsticks and over to the staircase to the lodging rooms.

Adela appeared beside her, pressing her cheek to hers.

"Merlin, he is cute, isn't he?" She said.

"I-I didn't think he was your type?" Shucks stammered.

"Tall, square jaw, muscular. Since when is that not my type?" Adela grinned. "Oh. He's coming this way. Look alive Shucks."

Shucks wheezed as a Adela suddenly charmed her again before darting away. She grabbed onto the countertop for stability as a tingling feeling hit her chest, and in doing so spilt the butterbeer Cedric had gotten her.

"Hey there" Oliver said, coming up next to her. He offered her a short smile, looking behind her for a bar attendant. "Fancy seeing you here- Yes, just settling ma tab, cheers."

He reached into his pocket and passed over a few coins to the bartender and thanked them again.

Shucks nodded, her words gone. She felt a splash of butterbeer slop onto her shoes.

"Nice to see you're breathing again" he joked. All the anger from earlier was gone, now he looked relaxed and comfortable, leaning against the bar. His biceps strained against his shirtsleeves, his jumper hanging from his arm. Shucks pretended not to notice. 

"Always an attractive quality" she managed.

To her surprise, he threw his head back and let out a large laugh. It was an incredibly pleasant sound, his smile shining.

"We should get a drink sometime" he said, effectively flooring her. "I like people that can make me laugh. Here's my room number."

He reached for a napkin and wrote the number to his room that Shucks already knew, sliding it across to her with his fingers.

"Send me an owl if you ever want to have a chat over a Dragon Brandy sometime."

And with a subtle, yet literally world shattering wink, he was off back up the stairs to the rooms, leaving Shucks alone on the floor, gripping the napkin in her hands.

Adela appeared again.

" _WHAT WAS THAT??_ " she implored.

Shucks was very intelligent when she replied; " _uhhhhhhhhhhh_."


End file.
